Knowing You
by America's Got Fandom
Summary: Po finally confesses his feelings to Tigress. When she doesn't feel the same way, Po's personality is altered and he's acting…weird. One thing goes wrong after another, will Po and Tigress be able to see pat their fear and work everything out? TIPO. Changed rating to be safe
1. Pain

**A/N: Hey! I've been working on this for a while, and if anyone likes it, I'll continue it! Thanks!**

 **Chapter 1: Pain**

Po sat on the towering, near-never ending steps to the Jade Palace. A legend to some, home to him. Since rebuilding it, it was different. Still home, still comforting , but new. And that sense of 'new' gave him a confidence and push he didn't know he possessed. That explained why, when Tigress walked over to him, he _didn't_ stutter like a babbling idiot like all the other times he'd attempted. Romeo, he was not.

"Come here often?" he joked. Smooth as ice, uncommonly. She smirked and sat beside him, the air of change affecting her as well.

She eyed him curiously. Her best friend – she used that word hesitantly but happily – had been acting alien recently. She certainly didn't like it, but wasn't expecting it to last long. "Funny," she replied. Her eyes wandered up towards the overly-crowded sky, sprinkled in blotches and splotches with stars. she broke the silence: "Thinking?"

"As rare as it is for me, yeah." Wit, a mysterious thing. It's a weapon that can make the user a hundred times more likable. She found it odd that he was so sharp with his words, and if it continued long it would become disturbing – concerning.

"Are you ok?" There was only one way to find out why he was so entertaining tonight.

He nodded calmly. Something in him was in a very serene, still state. Odd, considering the task that lay before him. "Fine. Say, uh, Tigress." His stomach starting twisting and contorting as his composure fled for safety. He beckoned it back, but to was too afraid to come out from under the covers. He looked to the upper left of his view and away from her. "You know, we've, uh, been friends for a loooong time, right? And I know this sounds kind of crazy, but…"

 _No. No. No. Not now, not today, not here._ Tigress wasn't ready for this. She knew what he was innocently leading up to, and she didn't feel the same way. She didn't love him. It was hard to say, think, and feel, but it was true. Sometimes she would look at him from across the room or during training and her heart would pound with love, but other times she would have chosen anyone other than him. It was so confusing that sometimes in made her head sting. It was the fact that she couldn't decide whether she loved, hated, respected him, or all of the above that drove her mad.

"…I've decided, after a lot of lost sleep and stuff, that…" he finally glanced in her direction as she cringed, before looking back down to the hard steps. "…I, I think I love you Tigress."

Oh no. Why her? Why not Mei Mei? She didn't want to break his heart. Maybe she sometimes wanted to break his skull, but not his heart. Why did he love her anyway? It didn't make sense, it didn't agree with logic. That bothered Tigress, who valued logic and common sense highly. "Uh, Po, I mean, I'm completely flattered, but…"

His face fell with shock, and almost _grief_ as she attempted to pull the, 'It's not you, it's me' card. "…I'm not really looking for anything right now…" Cringe. "…I don't really do that sort of thing." Crack. "But you're my best friend, and…yeah." Crunch.

Po attempted to recover with as much dignity and speed as possible. He got up and back towards the entrance, miraculously not tripping on the petals that had recently fallen and cracks in the stone. "Oh, ok, that's cool, it wasn't even a big deal, see you later for training Ti!" He shouted that last part from the entrance to the Jade Palace, his back to her.

She groaned and rubbed her head. "Not good."

Inside, Po's head was spinning. And so was his body.

Shifu was coming back from dinner when he spotted Po, more or less crashing into everything. "Po? Is something wrong?"

Po shook his head as he attempted to wander over to Shifu, his feet appearing heavy and weighed down. "No, I'm…fine." Spots of mud purple began to invade his line of vision as he leaned against the wall. The world was surely spinning around him, wasn't it? And it was getting faster. And darker.

"Po?" Shifu was ready to call for help as the Dragon Warrior slid down against the wall and sat wearily.

"I just…needa lie…down." His words were slurred as he finally let his consciousness escape.


	2. Different

_"Is he alright?"_

 _"He should be fine. Passing out like that usually indicates some traumatic event."_

 _"Where's Tigress anyway?"_

 _"She came in earlier, but left after a few minutes. She seemed pretty unaffected. Which is weird for her…but not. You know what I mean?"_

 _"Yeah, she's different around him…but not. Do you think he'll wake up soon?"_

As if told to, Po sat up with what little strength remained in him. He had a strange sense that he was missing something. Like when you leave the house and forgot something, but can't quite place what – until you arrive at school without your homework. "What happened?" he asked immediately. His words were sharp, no longer slurred, but put everyone around him on edge.

"Good, you're awake," Viper sighed with a smile, ignoring the tense atmosphere in the room. She, Crane, Mantis, Monkey, and Shifu were all surrounding Po, who was lying on his bed. His head stung in the back especially, but an overall almost itchy pain overlapped his whole head. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, fine, but what happened?" He asked. His head was slowly calming down, so he straightened a bit more. Why Tigress wasn't there didn't concern him in the slightest. "Was I hurt in battle?"

Shifu looked to the others before asking Po, "You don't remember?"

"Last thing I remember is training yesterday." He rubbed his head, checking for any injury, and found none. "Can someone tell me what happened?"

His tone was off. The others couldn't help but notice such a large change in pitch and manner, even in his posture. He sat up straighter, his head held higher. Monkey chimed in, "We were hoping you'd know. Apparently, you passed out without warning last night. You don't remember?"

Po silently shook his head. Feeling no side effects, he stood up. Mantis asked him quickly, "Po, are you sure you want to be standing up? Don't you want something to eat?"

Po shook his head as if it was the most obvious reaction. "Why would I eat? We've got training, Mantis. And by the close call of our last battle, we could all use it." With that, he walked off towards the Training Hall.

"Uhm, am I the only one who thought Po was acting like…" Crane stopped mid-sentence, in part because everyone could finish the accusation, and in part because the very individual in question shot a command at them through the hallway.

"Come on slowpokes, training."

Shifu sighed and let his head fall to his paw. "I don't like where this is going."

The five left Po's room to find Tigress and Po, but stopped short. Tigress was frozen to her spot, halting the group behind her.

The five left the room to find and meet up with the two Masters, but what they got when the entered the training hall was…scary? Not really scary, but…off. Very, very, off.

Po was training like they'd never seen before. He was sweating, furiously practicing and working. And after watching him for only five seconds, they could think of only one person he really resembled…

Everyone looked accusingly at Tigress.

Tigress held up her paws in a surrendering position. "You think I did that to him?" Sure, he was acting a lot…like…her…but she didn't do it!

Shifu attempted to amend the situation and keep tempers from flaring widely as best he could. "No one's blaming anyone. Continue as normal."

Everyone nodded, and training commenced. Shifu stayed to observe, and it was a good thing he did. Po's training style was hardcore. He pushed everyone to their absolute and toughest limits. He didn't care if they sweat, hurt, or pleaded for a break. The only person who could even scratch the surface of his standards was Tigress.

After training, when everyone had sweat sufficiently, Crane piped up. "I'm starving, who wants lunch?"

And then came the final nail in the coffin. The death of everyone's hopes that Po was just having a bad day were dashed with his response.

"No thanks, I'll be meditating," Po said in a smooth, easy tone. He slipped outside, leaving everyone's mouth gaping. With the exception of Tigress, who was staring at him in a concoction of respect, admiration, and even a bit of wonder.

"I don't like it," Viper grunted immediately from Tigress' side. She glared at the door Po left out of as if it was whatever had done this to him. "He's not _fun_ anymore. He's not our Po."

Monkey agreed with her. "Yeah, if he just refused food, something's off."

Tigress shrugged noncommittedly. "I like it. He's focused."

Shifu, who'd had his mouth shut the whole time, finally spoke up. "This isn't good," he muttered. He knew what this was. He didn't know why it happened, but he knew what it was. And it wasn't good. As the group looked upon him with curious eyes, he continued. "Po has lost his personality."

"WHAT?" Everyone exclaimed, even Tigress.

"He doesn't run for food. He trains exceptionally. He doesn't joke. With all due respect, who does that sound like?" He avoided the gaze of a certain master in the room, as did everyone else.

Tigress rolled her eyes. She wasn't dumb; she knew they meant her. "I didn't do anything to him!" Flashes of the night before and her, ahem, break-up, floated into her mind. Well, maybe she did do _something_ to him….

 _Like break his heart?_ The pushy, irritable slice of her brain spoke up. Tigress really hated that contradicting jerk.

 _Shut up._

Shifu added, "I will look into this. In the meantime, observe him, but don't act differently." Everyone nodded at his words. While Shifu wasn't training everyone anymore, he liked to stay in the midst of the group's doings.

However, no one inside was aware of Po punching the ironwood trees.

A tingling, freezing sensation was beginning to tickle his fists. He kept going. His conscious was barely aware of the subconscious battle that fought over his heart. One side wanted to feel nothing…wanted to close off everything. It wanted to stop feeling. It wanted to live without emotion. The other side wanted to love. The other side wanted to feel, wanted to want, wanted to breathe life in to the fullest. Both were in a battle for the Dragon Warrior's heart, mind, and conscious.

But which would win?


	3. Forging Ahead

4 days later…

Everyone was fed up.

Well, except for Tigress.

Po had no change. He was diligent, punctual, calm, ate three-squared meals a day, and trained vigorously. On the opposite side, he had a short temper, didn't show emotions much, and didn't have 'fun' by choice. The group had discovered this in the past few days, much to their dismay.

Except for Tigress.

She was in favor, you could say, ofthe change. He was her exact match. A modern-day dating site would call them a match-mate in heaven. They now built off each other and encouraged each other in a new, unfamiliar way. The rest of the group teased Tigress about being 'head over heels in love' and 'falling for the new Po', but she didn't pay much mind to them. In part because she wasn't affected by their teasing, and partly being a bit too distracted by Po to care.

As for his adoptive father (Li didn't know yet, being all the way in the Panda Village), he was more weirded out. His son was always extremely extroverted, bubbly, and excited for life in general, so to see him suddenly so focused on training and training only was more than a little jarring.

Shifu still searched for a cure, and a reason. He'd found little to explain it. All he knew was that Po was fine, passed out, then woke up the next morning with nearly all of his memory, but a personality change. Something didn't add up. Shifu needed a final piece, something that clicked and explained all the missing ends. But until he found out what that was, he, and everyone else, would have to get to know the new Po.

"Uh, Master, may Tigress and I go down to the village for a while?" Viper asked with her tail coiling to keep her from screaming. This was awful!

Po nodded and bowed, and she did the same. "Of course, but be back later."

Viper nodded and made a hastier retreat than if Kai was chasing her. She found Tigress outside, beneath the peach tree, meditating. Normally she wouldn't disturb her, but they needed to have a girl talk whether she wanted it or not. "Tigress?" Viper asked.

Tigress turned to face Viper. "What is it?"

Viper sat down next to Tigress with a sad smile. Time to find out how her best friend really felt about Po in his new…uh…state, let's call it. "How are you doing with this? I mean, you and Po were really close, now he's…all…yeah."

Tigress shrugged, staring blankly at the expanse of stretching sky above her. "I don't know what everyone's problem with it is. He's different, yes, but he's what we all expected in a Dragon Warrior."

Viper's jaw unhinged at her friend's words. Did she just say that? Was she…no. She couldn't be. But still, Viper had a very bad feeling about where this was going. "Tigress, you don't mean that, right? We all love Po, and now it's like he's a new guy all together."

Tigress glared and shut her eyes. She wanted Viper to drop this whole topic. It gave her a guilty, muttering rumble way deep in her stomach that she didn't care for at all. She pushed herself off the ground and waked a few paces away from Viper, mentally and physically distancing herself from Viper's conflicting and rather harsh opinions. "Maybe I'm glad. Maybe I'm glad he's like this."

Viper stood up after her. "Tigress, are you trying to tell me that you prefer Po all unfeeling and emotionless? Cold? _Hardcore?_ "

The last word hit Tigress hard in the heart. She spun on her heel and faced Viper with fire in her eyes. "Yes! Alright? I like him better this way!"

Viper, as opposed to leaving in fear and sadness at her best friend's proclamation, stood her ground. "Liar! You miss him, you want him back!"

"I do not!"

Tigress couldn't take any more of this. She burst up and stormed to her room, crashing the door behind her. Her blood boiled and her heart pounded like a jackhammer in her throat, choking her with her own hate. Why did Viper have to go on like that? Her opinions were her own, and she didn't have to tell _anyone._

Who cares if she liked Po better this way? It wasn't up to Viper or anyone else what she thought. And if Viper and the rest of her friends couldn't deal with that, then they should just leave her alone.

Alone.

That was how she functioned best. Getting others involved in her life only complicated things, put her in danger, and set her up to fall into disappointment. That's why she liked Po with his new personality: he was so much like her, it wasn't even like she was hanging out with anyone. She was with herself.

After collecting herself and getting her rage to a reasonable level, she went to go train. That's what she did when she was upset: she trained. Well, if it had been three weeks ago, Po would've found out why she was upset and cheered her up in some way. But that was then. This was much better.

She found Po training, sweating and working profusely hard. She wasn't sure if she should offer any greeting, so she just bowed in respect, and he took a moment to bow back. Seeing that he wasn't in the mood for conversation, she decided to join him in silence.

Silence was always good friends with Tigress. It didn't hurt, it didn't call her names, and it didn't annoy her. That's why she loved it so much.

For the next three hours, that's how she and Po trained together: silently. They passed nods of respect, grins of friendship, and pats on the back of encouragement, but no words hit the air. They weren't needed, and weren't used.

At the end of the day, she found herself immensely satisfied with her training. She _felt_ better, like she made progress in the short hours.

 _Viper was wrong, she really was. Po is perfect now._

"Good training," she said. Her throat burned, it had not been used to speak in hours, but she didn't mind.

Po replied with a quiet, "You too."

Then, Tigress betrayed herself. She betrayed everything she stood for, promised herself, and lived by. She defaced what everyone else knew about her. Her cheeks burned before she even did it, but she wasn't going to care for once. She forced herself not to care.

She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she leaned forward, hugged him tightly, then ran off. She was like a school girl giving her crush a Valentine: giddy, nervous, and blissfully ignorant.

After making it to the safety off her room, slamming the door behind her and sliding down it, she decided she'd never had a better time training.


	4. Not the Same

_Tigress leaned on Po's arm heavily, panting for breath that didn't help. "Po…it hurts…" she coughed out. She gripped on his shoulders as he led her just to the bottom of the steps to the Jade Palace, helping her sit down gently. Her legs poured blood out onto the steps, staining them and everything around them with a scarlet wave._

 _"I know, Tigress, just let me look at it!" He more or less ordered. She leaned back on the steps and tried to breathe, despite her gasps getting shorter and shorter, and her vision being attacked with splotches of purple mud. She breathed harder and more often – but it did nothing. Nothing. She wanted to lie down and sleep. Yes, she wanted to sleep for hours and hours, not being woken until the end of time._

 _Po shook his head as he mopped up as much blood as he could, barely putting a dent in her injury's effects. Both of her legs were severely wounded, bleeding like neither had seen before. Po didn't know how to tell her that it didn't look good. They were clammy and colorless, and he didn't want to face the reality that her legs would most likely be useless. "Tigress, hang on, alright?" he begged._

 _She nodded, her back laying onto the steps. Just as she took in a breath, another intense twist of pain sent her clutching his paw, pleading with him to help her. "Po, I…I…can't…it hurts." She spat the words out, but at the same time he had to hang onto her every word. "You have to go, they're coming."_

 _Po finally looked up at her, astonished. What was she talking about? How could she even think he would abandon her? "Tigress, I'm not leaving you here!"_

 _"You'll die too!" She wanted him to get away before she was unconscious and couldn't tell him to do so. She was a heck of a lot more convincing when she was awake! "I'll be fine," she lied through her teeth. It hurt to lie to him. She looked over his shoulder with what strength remained in her arms. An orange, bursting glow was pulling and tearing down the trees just beyond the horizon. She couldn't remember when that started, but it made sense for some reason. "Po, unless you want to either get burned alive or be taken prisoner, you have to run."_

 _"No!"_

 _Ugh, he was being so defiant! He was like a toddler, never listening to reason! She sat up, her legs burning and tingling like a painful itch that could take off skin if you scratched it. She looked him straight in the eyes and muttered, "I won't let you die trying to save me when I'm going to die anyway."_

 _He stared back, just as stubborn. "And I won't let you die."_

 _She sighed and leaned back, covering her face in frustration with his overzealous bravery. He was going to die in a feeble attempt to save her, and he wasn't backing down! "Dragon Warrior," she began in a low and ordering tone. She sat up on her elbows weakly, focusing her energy in her stare that he wasn't looking at. She yelled as he wrapped cloth around each of her legs, "You have a duty to protect China. You can't sacrifice China over me!"_

 _He finally put down the cloth and stared up at her in a glare. His eyes were set and determined and he set his fists angrily on each side of her. She didn't flinch, merely glaring back at him. "Master Tigress," he matched her formal title and commanding quality. "I'm supposed to save China. Last I checked, you live here too. And before I'm the Dragon Warrior, I'm someone who lov–"_

 _A large gong sent a ripple of hard soundwaves rushing at them like a hurricane in the distance._

 _Tigress looked over Po's shoulder towards the horizon for any sign of the army. "We have to move," she breathed. She turned back to him, but the space in front of her was empty._

 _Tigress opened her mouth to yell, but the words stopped in her throat. Where was he? The sky started swirling, blotching into patches and clumps of dark blue and purple. Why was everything getting colder?_

"Po!" Tigress' eyes shot open in the late night. Her breathes were quick and small and her heart pounded from her stomach in a line up to her throat. She had to recount; she wasn't on the steps to the Jade Palace, she wasn't hurt, Po was still –

Po.

She didn't check if her legs weren't bleeding. She didn't check if an army was coming. She didn't check if the world was on fire. She just burst up and ran to his room. This wasn't like Tigress AT ALL. Desperate for reassurance and comfort, from a nightmare? From a stupid, idiotic, childish–

"Master Tigress? What are you doing up this late?" Po's words were tired and flat as paper. He stared at her in wait for an explanation, and it only set Tigress on edge. Not angry or ready to argue, and not irritated, but…nervous? For what, that she would disappoint him? Yes, he was the Dragon Warrior and her master, but he wasn't her boss. They were friends. Then why were her palms sweaty? Why was her stomach tying itself in knots?

Her initial plan had been to tell him about the nightmare, right? Yes, of course. He was good for things like that. He had the most wonderful shoulder to cry on. But now, the way his eyes were getting more and more judgmental…she wasn't so sure he would want to hear her problems. He stared her down like he was a bully and she was a kid who didn't know what a comeback was. "Uh, I was…I just…" _Think of an explanation, and think of it fast._

Po shook his head disapprovingly at Tigress, almost shedding malice with his glare. "Master Tigress, we have training early in the morning. Try not to get your tail in a knot by childish nightmares again." The door swung slowly before shutting with a soft _pop_ in her face, a gentle but unwanted reminder that her best friend was not what he once was.

This time, she realized what Viper meant.

Her best friend, the friend no one expected her to have, was gone.


	5. Truth

Tigress stared at the door in thunderstruck silence. She couldn't move if Kai broke in. Why was Po treating her like a child, instead of his best friend?

 _The personality switch, remember? Something you yourself were falling in love with mere hours ago._

Tigress finally forced her head to shake the cruel and truthful thoughts away. She couldn't fall into sleep, not a peaceful one. Her feet acted apart from her mind as she walked through the hallways, outside, and down the long steps of the Jade Palace.

The valley was vivacious in the violet light of night. Stars sprinkled light among lanterns' glow, keeping children awake past their bedtimes and parents alert enough to watch them. The activities were so full of life that no one even paid mind to the Kung Fu master in their midst, which was quite alright with Tigress. She needed solitude.

She sat down on a bench and rubbed her eyes, which itched with lack of sleep. She did her best thinking when she was tired.

 _Look at this logically, Tigress._

Start from the beginning: She had loved the change. He had everything she'd wanted in a companion: diligence, strength, no attachment to emotions, and no fun. He was the Dragon Warrior they'd expected all those years ago.

At least, that's what it used to be.

But she liked – loved it. She wanted to spend every minute with him. And he seemed…indifferent? Wait, when had that happened?

Tigress ran deeper through the reels of her memory, and it all hit in a hurricane of emotion. Before all this happened, before he even confessed…he had been following her around like a puppy. He was sweet, caring, adoring, and attentive. And she'd been…indifferent.

 _"Tigress!" Po shouted from across the Valley. He ran over to her, defying all known laws of physics by not tripping._

 _Tigress stood in cool amusement once he got to her. The Valley was crowded, to say the least, due to the Valentine's Day festival. "Yes?" she asked in monotone. He was such a child in some ways, but that made him enjoyable to be around. Not that she would tell him that._

 _His smile was small, almost like a young boy who was asking his crush to play tag. "Uh, this is for you. Happy Valentine's Day."_

 _Tigress cradled the small, hombre orange-and-pink China Rose in her paws. It was beautiful, even she had to admit that. "Thank you, Po. This is nice. Happy Valentine's Day." She looked up, smiled, and gave him a pat on the back. Then she left._

 _If she'd looked back, she would've seen the wistful, longing smile on his face as he watched her leave._

The reality almost sent Tigress falling off her seat. She ran quickly past the memories from the past days in her head. Every time _she_ showed _him_ affection or attention, he brushed it off, or ignored her. He was unconcerned with _her_ as a whole. He could take or leave her. She was secondary. Exactly how she had treated him…

But now? There was a conclusion, somewhere, sitting in the back of her head just waiting for her to wise up and pull it out. She just needed a minute. Her subconscious was shaking its head, shouting _no_ at her conscious, who wanted the truth.

 _The truth. I want the truth. I can handle it._

She shut her eyes and let go.

He no longer smiled, he smirked.

He didn't hug. He nodded.

He wouldn't encourage, he would reprimand.

He didn't love. He approved.

What happened?

 _I love him._

#

Tigress had never run up the steps to the Jade Palace faster. She had just hit the last one when she spotted Po walking towards the entrance. The sun was shining just beyond the horizon, barely letting a sliver of light illuminate the steps. It gave a sense of beginning. Something was about to happen. "Po!" she called as she ran in.

He turned to face her, more confusion covering his face than anything. "Master Tigress, what are you doing?"

She finally stopped, just mere inches in front of him. "Uh, Po, I…I mean," stuttering. Tigress was STUTTERING. She didn't stutter! That wasn't her! What had the last few years done to her?

 _Made you fun, likeable, and happy?_

 _Shut up._

Po stood there, staring at her. Remnants of his old self were making themselves known, the way he looked at her with growing care. His eyes showed concern for her nerves, rather than the precursor that was judgement and heartlessness.

A smile just began to form on his face as he looked down at her. "Tigress?" he started in a gentle voice.

 _Snap._

Po's head was sent into a firecracker of pain, like it was bleeding from all sides. His vision blotted out completely until all he could see was a faint, faint image. He couldn't even tell what it was. It was nighttime…the image was growing clearer.

He was sitting on the steps of the Jade Palace. Tigress was next to him.

 _"You know, we've, uh, been friends for a loooong time, right? And I know this sounds kind of crazy, but…"_

That was his voice. It was blurred, but it was his. It was hitting him in angry slams of flashbacks. Why was his brain bringing this memory out? Why did he have to remember this, of all things?!

But…another voice was breaking in. And this one was new, he could feel it. It was stronger, sharper. Nearer. Tigress.

"Po, I know I hurt you, but I think…"

 _"…I've decided, after a lot of lost sleep and stuff, that…"_

It hurt. The words in the memory made his stomach tie and twist in tight knots, almost worse than when it had happened the first time. Maybe because now he knew how it ended.

Though he couldn't see her, he knew that Tigress was talking. He could hear her voice distinctly, as sharp as a needle. She sounded sheepish, which was jarring, but listening to two conversations, one past and one present, had his head spinning.

"…I think that I love you."

 _"…I, I think I love you, Tigress."_

His vision cleared, the flashback dissolved.

He saw Tigress standing in front of him, looking up into his eyes, full of hope.

But the last thing he'd seen before his flashback disappeared was her _avoiding_ is gaze, looking anywhere but his eyes. And he could never forget that.

His face twisted into a harder glare than he'd ever given. He stared her straight in her eyes, the same way she wouldn't when he'd confessed. "Well then, _Master_ Tigress," he muttered through gritted teeth. He wanted to be cruel. He wanted to be mean. Not to her necessarily, but he wanted to be an unbreakable wall of unfeeling ice. "I guess…I'm flattered."

Leaving her with nothing else, he stormed out of the Palace and down the steps.


	6. Aftermath

Tigress needed help. Before admitting Viper was...right...she needed to get Po fixed. And there was only one person who could help her. The one person who could help fix whatever had gone wrong inside Po. The one person who knew more about Po's problem or break or _whatever_ than she did.

He was outside, meditating, like usual. "Master Shifu?" she asked quietly. She took a deep, long breath to calm her blaring and out-of-control emotions. It didn't help. It only reminded her how her life had taken such a bad turn in the past days, and how much sleep she was missing.

He opened his eyes and answered, "Yes?"

She sighed and sat in front of him. "I…need help." She gave the whole story: Po's confession, why she rejected him, her confession, his rejection, everything. It was a bit odd to pour everything out, but she needed to do it. Especially if it was going to get Po back.

Shifu stared at her. He needed a good, long minute to process what he'd just heard. Tigress was expecting him to just accept everything she just told him? That she was in love with Po? That Po had been in love with her? He wasn't running a high school here! Sigh.

He rubbed his eyes and took an extended sigh. "Tigress," he began. "You're telling me everything, right?"

She nodded.

He was afraid of that.

He looked up to the sky thoughtfully before turning back to her. "I think I know what's wrong with Po. When you, uh, rejected him…" that sentence was a bit hard to say for him. "…something inside his mind couldn't handle it. So, his brain destroyed the part of him that loved you to prevent pain. Along with that, his subconscious rid his personality of everything that made him 'him', leaving what he assumed you looked for."

Tigress gulped. "But why isn't he fixed now? I saw him earlier, he's still in there!"

Shifu shook his head and tried to explain the cruel truth. "Even when you returned his feelings, the pain was too much. Simply, his subconscious doesn't trust you."

No. She couldn't have ruined everything. Not when they were so close. "Is there anything that we can do?"

"I don't know."

She and Po were on separate train tracks. So close, but parallel. Not connecting, but near. And Tigress was going to find a way to make those tracks connect if it was the last thing she did. "Thank you," she mumbled. She silently got up and wandered off. The world seemed very cold for a June day.

#

3 days later:

Nothing had changed.

A Tigress was _done._

So, when Shifu asked for someone to go on a simple, easy-peasy mission that would require one Master to go to a Kung Fu school a few villages away, Tigress calmly shot her hand up like a maniac. She needed a vacation. Alone.

She and Po hadn't spoken since what she was informally referring to as, _Tigress Makes a Fool of Herself, Part A._ Part B would be when she tried again after Po got his personality back. Which had to happen. Soon. Like, yesterday-soon.

She was standing at the entrance to the Jade Palace, saying goodbye to Viper when her best female friend decided to drop the bomb. "Uhm, Tigress," she gave her a gentle smile. "I know about Po. You and Po."

Tigress' eyes bulged. "How?" Dang, Viper, she had an edge to her no one knew.

Viper sighed. "I saw the whole confession scene, I couldn't help it. Look, I'll try to talk to him and get his personality back while you're gone. Do you want me to bring him to say goodbye to you?"

Tigress shuffled her feet on the floor and sighed, rubbing off some of the chipped paint on the building. She took her time looking around the worn but beautiful building, pretty recently repaired from Kai. "I don't know, Viper, maybe it's a lost cause."

Viper, an optimist if Tigress ever saw one, was not going to take that. "Uh huh, I'm gonna try. Somewhere deep down, Po is in there. I know he is. And he loves you."

A sigh escaped her. "Thank you, Viper, but I really just want to forget everything. Tell Po…tell him I said goodbye. He really is hardcore now, I guess." Tigress nodded to Viper and started down the mountain of stone steps.

Viper glared in determination. "I'm going to get these two together if it kills me!"

#

Tigress was walking through the Valley, weaving absent-mindedly through carefree villagers. Her head hung a bit lower than it usually did, and the sun only served to contrast her mood. And when Mr. Ping came up to her, she wanted nothing more than to go back to bed.

"Master Tigress, wait!" Mr. Ping called to her in a mini-frenzy. He rushed up to her and explained, "I heard you were going on a mission, but I have to ask, is there anything that can be done for Po? He's acting…" Mr. Ping scrunched up his face and looked to the ground like it was a slimy, undercooked noodle. "…weird."

Tigress sighed and looked at him with respectful but personal sympathy. "We're doing everything we can. Has he seemed any better to you?"

He shook his head and kicked a rock. His son was still unfeeling and quiet towards him. "No better. I would've hoped that he would open up to you, you're his best friend out of all the Masters." Looking out towards the Palace, he missed Tigress' mad blush that penetrated her fur.

"He won't open up to anyone. He…" her eyes wandered to the doorway of Mr. Ping's restaurant, where Po was setting up tables in what looked like deep thought. She started shaking slightly, and the urge to get as far away as possible took her over again. She continued watching him as he set the tables.

 _"I guess…I'm flattered."_

Flattered. She hated that word.

Po, from inside, because of some sixth sense, turned his head outside. Oogway? A possibility. Because he felt Tigress looking at him? Probably not.

And then…their eyes locked.

Neither would look away. Neither would move. Neither would stop.

Well, except for Mr. Ping. "Um, Master Tigress? Are you alright?"

Po watched carefully for Tigress' reaction. He wasn't glaring, but he wasn't smiling. He wasn't balking, and he wasn't blankly staring. He just waited patiently and contently for her next move.

She shut her eyes and shook her head to rid herself of him. When she opened them again, she was looking away from him. And she wasn't planning to look back. "Fine, thank you. I'm going on a mission. Tell Po I said goodbye."

Mr. Ping bowed and replied, "I will. Be safe."

Tigress nodded and spun on her heel, not taking another look at Po.

 _I'm going to forget him if it's the last thing I do._


	7. No Job Too Small

Viper was mad.

Viper didn't get 'mad' often.

What was she mad at? Well, a few that she could think of off the top of her head were:

Po

Tigress

The situation between Po and Tigress

The lack of love between her two best friends

Needless to say, Viper was a bit of a romantic.

She left her room, letting the door shut behind her with a soft thud. Maybe a nice, calm, serene breakfast with her best friends would make her feel better. After all, they could always cheer her up.

She entered the kitchen, finding Monkey, Mantis and Crane already eating. They had a small dish ready for her, which she found sweet. "Hey, where's Po?"

Mantis shrugged, chewing his food between words. "No one's seen him since yesterday."

Viper sat with everyone and began to eat. She had last seen Po...yeah, yesterday. Where was he? "Was he training?"

Crane piped up. "Nope, I already checked. We can't find him. Master Shifu said he was probably meditating somewhere."

Wonderful. Not that Viper was against Po meditating, but it gave her a sharp, needle jab to the heart that he was still lost. Tigress may have been closest to Po, but she loved him too! No one really appreciated or even _noticed_ how much this was hurting her.

Shaking her head, Viper replied, "That's just great." Her bitterness was evident at the day's situation. "Po is still acting like an idiot, Tigress leaves, and everyone's just eating like nothing's wrong! For goodness sakes, we've been more concerned when Po broke his hand and couldn't cook, but he loses his personality and no one cares!"

Viper stared at her friends after her outburst, unsure but blood still boiling. She wasn't one to… _explode_ like that, but she had a reason!

Crane was the first (and bravest, quite frankly) to speak up. "Of course we're worried about Po. We're his friends too, we just don't know what to do. I mean, if Master Shifu doesn't know what to do, how would we?"

"Yeah," Monkey agreed. "We have the least chance of being able to help him."

Viper shook her head. "No _way._ We have the best chance of helping him, because we're his best friends! Tigress is gone, maybe that's rattling him a bit. All we have to do now is move in for the final blow."

Crane, Mantis, and Monkey weren't about to argue with Viper in her go-get-em attitude, besides, maybe she was right. Maybe they would be able to save Po and bring him back! There was nothing like teamwork!

They all nodded and ran with Viper to find Po. It didn't take long after all, he was at the Peach Tree.

Meditating.

Dang it.

Viper sighed. "We have our work cut out for us."

#

"So, you get it?" Crane asked. Po's countenance was actually reminiscent of his old self, he looked…confused. After all, anyone would be if you just told them they lost their personality.

It was Viper's idea.

Po sat up against the wall of his bedroom. "So, you're saying that I used to act like a crazy, fun-loving, wild guy? I ate a lot, I ran around, and I didn't train like my life depended on it?" WAS that him? It didn't even sound like anyone he _knew._

Viper nodded. "Yup. But don't worry, we're going to help you get your personality back!"

"Why?"

 _"Why?"_

Viper didn't know how to answer such a ridiculous question.

"Don't you want to go back to normal?" Monkey asked, seeing that Viper was a bit flustered at her plan not going well. This was the first time she was taking charge of a plan.

Po shrugged. "I mean, aren't I better the way I am now? Doesn't…Tigress like me better this way?" His voice was small, like a toddler, when he mentioned Tigress. He almost broke his sentence afterwards, his heart started beating more rapidly at her name and he didn't know why. He didn't like the feeling.

Viper's eyes grew to the size of a sunflower.

"THAT'S IT!" Viper exclaimed. This was it! "Po, did you hear yourself? You called Tigress 'Tigress' not 'Master Tigress'!"

Mantis didn't see what the big deal was. "So?"

Sigh. Couldn't they see what a huge deal this was? "Didn't you hear him say her name?" She turned to Po and tried to appeal to the side that she knew was still in there; the side that still loved Tigress.

"Po, I'm telling you, Tigress liked you _much_ better when you were fun."

Monkey snorted. "Smooth, Viper. Really comforting."

Ignoring Monkey's comment, Viper went on. "You and Tigress were best friends before all this happened. Hey, don't look at me like that."

She had a reason for her last sentence, he was looking at her like she grew a head on her tail. He and Tigress…best friends? How is that even possible? Why were they best friends? And more importantly, why did he kind of… _like_ the thought?

Hesitantly, and still not very sure this was a good idea, Po nodded. What did he have to lose? His dignity, new found respect, and confidence? "I guess, we can try, if you're sure."

"YES!" Viper hollered. She turned around to face the cheering trio behind her with determination and confidence spilling off of her. "Monkey, I need three bowls of noodles. Mantis, I need Po's action figures. Crane, get Mr. Ping."

Turning back to Po, she gave a side-smile that Kai would be proud of. "We're going to Skadoosh you."

"Wait, is that a bad thing?"


	8. The Calm and the Storm

"I'm done. I'm never, EVER trying to help you guys again. From now on, if it involves a guy, you _guys_ can solve it on your own."

Needless to say, Viper's plan wasn't going quite as well as she had planned.

Po was pacing back and forth in his bedroom, the only moving constant in the walls. "Has this ever happened to me before?" Even he was getting caught up in the mission of getting himself back, despite not understanding it.

Crane shook his head, sitting against the wall. "No, not really."

"Wait, I've got it!" Monkey piped up. His outburst startled some less than enthusiastic reactions, but he continued. "When people lose their memory or personality, it's usually because they got his on the head, right? Well, what if we hit Po on the head?" He thought it was a pretty solid plan. After all, nothing else had worked.

Viper finally moved from her sullen, slouched state to slap Monkey. "That's a terrible idea."

Po fought back the urge to reprimand her. He found that the other Masters were actually pretty nice, for the most part. "Maybe I'm just like this forever," he suggested in a bland, uncaring tone. It's not like things were _terrible_ right now, why should he change? So what if he was a little unhappier, a lot lonelier, and kind of starting to miss Tigress? He didn't need to change back.

Right?

"So, how's everything going?" Shifu asked as he entered. Viper had informed him of the plan earlier, and he wasn't too sure. As optimistic as Viper was, it takes more than familiarities to bring back someone's personality.

Po stood up and bowed, despite Viper's glares burning through the back of his head. "Master Shifu, may I ask your advice?"

"Certainly."

"WHY THE HECK AM I ACTING SO WEIRD?"

Po clamped a hand over his mouth.

Viper slithered over to him at the speed of light. "Po, did you…did you just… _holler?_ "

Po stared in disbelief at his hands as if they had done it themselves. "I... I think I did. Was...was I supposed to?"

"Yes!" Viper tightly hugged her friend, looking to Shifu with hope that was on a child-like level. "Does this mean Po is going to get better?"

Shifu did not look as happy as the others. While Po's holler was a sign of hope, the question he posed afterwards was in such a calm voice that it put Shifu on edge. He watched carefully as the happy blood drained from Po's face like through a strainer, despite an oblivious Viper.

Shifu shook his head slowly as not to break Viper's spirit. "I'm afraid…" he decided to take a more optimistic approach, as even Po looked disappointed by the news. "…it is possible that he may return, but I would not call this noteworthy. I have been doing some research."

Everyone gathered around Shifu with open ears and jittery hearts. Did he have hope? A victory? A crushing defeat? No one knew.

"Po, listen to me." Taking a deep breath from the air that did not help at all, Shifu delivered the news, "What you have is called Xīnlíng de Syndrome. It's rare, that's why there is so little information on it. So far there is no cure. Most never recover." "Most?" Po was choosing to focus on the one good words that had come out of Shifu's mouth and ignore the less-than-favorable ones. Shifu nodded. "Most. Those who have been cured were all cured in different ways, so there is really no definitive answer. Some went through a knock on the head, some went through a traumatic experience, one even just woke up completely cured." The room was as silent as a graveyard for the next minute. "But, what we've been doing was working," Viper argued with the lightest of voices. "He sounded just like he used to before, doesn't that mean something?" It had to mean something. She couldn't have been _that_ wrong, right? Surely it had done some good! Shifu didn't have an answer to that. "It…it is hard to say." He stood up very slowly, careful to not disturb the tense, sober attitude in the room as per silent curtesy. "Po, I wish you luck." That was all he left them as he exited the room.

Monkey, Mantis and Crane began talking to Po, but Viper was in a different dimension. She stared at the floor like it was her enemy, but an enemy that she couldn't defeat. "Po," she began in a firm voice. "If you don't want to change, that's your business. We'll all love you just the same." The moment the sentence left her mouth, she wondered if it was true.

Po gave her a cordial smile. "Thank you, Mas–" he briefly reconsidered his word choice. "–Viper."

Viper smiled, gave him a quick hug, and left the room. She was only able to speak the truth when she had the door shut behind her. "I don't even know him anymore."

#

Training and dinner that night was quiet. Just…quiet. Not silent, but nowhere near jovial. Quiet.

Now, as everyone lay in bed, protected by the fierce, fighting storm that lay in the open-air, Po wondered why he was going outside. It was dangerous out there, he knew that.

That didn't stop him from stepping into the external.

The rain hit him like bullets. At first, it hurt. It hurt badly. He thought he was stupid for going outside when a storm that was clearly hazardous was raging.

But…he kept standing there. Unmoving, unrelenting, he continued to gaze out onto the Valley.

Looking deeper out at the image around him, he noticed everything was soaked. He was no different. Why was he out here? He didn't know. He liked it.

It was calm.

They say the calm comes after the storm, but is there a calm during the storm?

He thought so.

Maybe they could happen at the same time. Maybe, if you stood in the middle of a storm, it could still be calm. Maybe they could work together. Maybe they could live, breathe, and fight in peace and unity.

Or, maybe he was just thinking too much.

"You can't have calm and storm at the same time," he muttered under wet breath. "It's not _possible._ It's a contradiction of terms." That was fact. Storm. Calm. Opposites. It was an oxymoron.

Was it?

Here he was, standing in the midst of a passionate conflict between Mother and Father Nature, and at perfect peace. Maybe that was the point. The calmest calm was in the wickedest of storms.

Maybe they could coexist.

And…maybe his two personalities could coexist.

As he walked back into the proud Jade Palace with a small smile on his face, he had to agree.

Another thought entered his head.

Maybe _they_ could do the same.


	9. Figuring It Out

**A/N: Yup, I'm still alive! SO sorry about the super slow update, I've been struggling with where to take this story even though I knew kind-of how I wanted to end it. I think I've got some more footing, and this is the _probably_ the second to last chapter, but I may add a short epilogue. This chapter is also much longer, finally!**

Po wasn't ready for this. Why was he even doing this? What was the POINT? To make a fool of himself? It certainly seemed like it.

Viper had told him it wasn't like that, and it was for his own good. He didn't agree, but he couldn't face ALL of them at the same time, so he was more or less forced into going.

Even Shifu and his father were in favor of the plan. That didn't help him much, but what could he do about it?

"Are we there yet?" Even his tough, loner personally was getting anxious as he, Viper, Crane, Monkey and Mantis walked through a forest. It was mostly bamboo, and while that made it beautiful, it was also _much_ harder to see where they were going.

Viper peered at the map Monkey was holding. "Uh, nope...no, wait, yes...kind of."

Po rolled his eyes. This wasn't going to work. He knew it wasn't going to work, so much so that he had even slept in and almost missed teaching training to get out of it.

It didn't work.

Viper whispered to Monkey, "Do you really think this will work?"

Monkey shrugged. "I heard about it from some guy in the Valley who was using an old shoe as a bag, so you tell me."

"I _knew_ I shouldn't have listened to you."

"Do you have any better ideas?" He mimicked her melancholy, glum and regretful tone, earning a glare. "Look, it's worth a shot, right? We don't have much else."

Viper nodded, slithering underneath a fallen bamboo branch. "Yeah, and with Tigress coming back _tomorrow_ , this needs to work."

Crane piped up. "Uh, just a question no one has had to guts to ask out loud: What happens if this doesn't work?"

Viper didn't want to consider that. She shot a look behind her, where Mantis was keeping a very bored-looking Po occupied. "I... I don't know. I can't stand to see him like this, I'm just really hoping it works."

"Me too."

The group wandered through the thicket of bamboo and foliage for eternity. Trees, bamboo, bushes, grass, even Viper was getting tired of the color green. How much jade could there be in China? Eventually it had to stop, right? "Monkey, we've got to be almost there by now."

Monkey twisted the map to its side, taking his sweet time answering Viper. She wasn't going to like this, was she? "Uh...I think we may have taken a wrong turn a little while back."

Viper groaned. "Ok, Monkey, I don't even think we should keep going. We'll fix Po some other way, this isn't–"

"Oh, don't worry, we'll _fix_ the Dragon Warrior." The voice sent chills down the masters' spines, like they were in a haunted house that _certainly_ wasn't supposed to have ghosts.

They all turned around, expecting the worst, whatever it could be.

Three, five, seven, ten, no, fifteen bandits jumped out from the foliage, pointing spears at the warriors. "We have you surrounded!"

Po shrugged. "Then I guess we'll just have to go through you." He, and the rest, took stance. "Ready, guys?"

Viper smiled. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine that nothing was even wrong. "Ready, Po."

The fight began.

The group was heavily outnumbered by the bandits, but they had an advantage; form. The bandits were slow, and while their punches were massive and powerful, they left too many openings to be effective warriors.

Po knocked one in the head, then kicked another.

Across the 'battle field' he spotted Viper with five surrounding her alone. "Viper, careful!"

She shot him a look, but he barely caught anything she said except, "Po, look!"

He turned just a second too late, the brass knuckles colliding with his head knocked him out cold.

#

 _Po's eyes didn't want to open. He wanted to stay lying down, in a deep, uninterrupted and undisturbed sleep until the end of time._

 _"Get up, rise and shine!"_

 _Who was that?_

 _Po finally forced his eyes to open…but he didn't see much beyond tar-black ink, covering the walls, floor and ceiling like it was painted there for all eternity. Where in China was he?_

 _Propping himself up on his elbows, he came face to face with himself._

 _"Ack!" Po was startled back at his ghost…or, reflection? Mirror image? Hallucination? What was he looking at? Where was he? He had too many questions and too few answers. "Who…. what…?" He stood up and started slowly backing away, not that he could go anywhere, he was in a vacuum._

Yes, I'm hallucinating. I was knocked out in battle, right? That would make sense.

 _"I'm you, y'know, the old you."_

 _Po started backing away from his ghost. Who wouldn't? Why was this happening? And, more importantly, why was it happening to him? "No, I'm hallucinating, right?"_

 _The Po before him was smiling, grinning like he was at a birthday party. "Well, kind of. I'm sort here to fix you. You couldn't do it, Viper and the gang couldn't, no one could, so now you have me! I'm gonna fix you!"_

 _Po didn't like this version of him. He was too...eager. Excited. Talkative. Too...loud._

 _"So," he continued, yawning. "I'm guessing you want to know how to fix yourself, right?"_

 _Po stared his ghost down, assuming that mere confidence and assertive force could scare this contradiction of himself away. "No. I'm happy the way I am."_

 _"No, you're not."_

 _Po found his reflection's voice rather...childlike. Annoying and high pitched, to be honest. Was_ this _what everyone was missing?_ This _was the guy Viper was trying so hard to bring back?_

 _And, on the same note,_ this _guy thought Tigress could love him?_

 _Uh oh._

 _At the mention of Tigress in his head, a strange wave washed over his mind. What was it? It came every time he thought of her._

 _Pain._

 _It hurt to think about her._

 _Why?_

 _He shook it off, instead focusing on intimidating his reflection that stood before him. "Be that as it may, I'm much more suited for my occupation in this state of mind."_

 _"Are you a walking dictionary?"_

 _Po slapped his forehead. His old-self was so ANNOYING! "No, I just happen to be intelligent, something you know nothing about."_

 _His reflection laughed._

 _See? Bothersome._

 _Reflection-Po, leaning on his knees for support, got his laughter to subside. "Ok, I'm sorry, that was just hilarious. We've got to get back on track."_

 _Po was silent, letting his...companion go on._

 _"You love Tigress, right?" He paused for effect with a smug grin of someone who knew so much more than others. Where had he learned that? "And don't even try to deny it, cause I'm you, so I know."_

 _Despite everything, despite wanting to roll his eyes at his reflection, Po was curious. He couldn't help it, hard as he tried, because he wanted to know. He wanted to know whatever this old version of himself knew, and how it had to do with Tigress–_

 _Dang it, there it goes again!_

 _That pierce of blood, the sharp jab of pain through his cranium every time he thought of her! He hated it!_

 _"I miss her," he admitted with a casual rub to his head. That was all he would admit. Nothing more, nothing less. Not the truth, but not a lie. A medium. "That's it. She was a fierce warrior and a good sparring partner."_

 _Po's reflection smirked. "Sure, you_ just _miss her. Look, the faster you admit that you love her, the faster we can all move on."_

 _Po didn't want to answer that, but at the same time, he wanted to get as far away from this guy as possible. "Let's just assume, for purposes of time and interests, that I love her. Not that I do," he added quickly. "Stop smirking."_

 _"Sorry."_

 _Po continued with an awful mix of respect, annoyance, and curiosity for his past-personality. "Just assume that I love her, and tell me what you have to."_

 _His replication smiled like a sunflower, clapping his hands together. "Great! First step done. Well, basically, she doesn't love you."_

 _Excuse you?_

 _"What are you talking about? You don't know what you're talking about!" Po struggled to keep his voice at a reasonable volume, his defenses kicking in._

 _The ghost shrugged with a hint of sympathy. "Yeah, look, I know it's hard to hear, but you have to. It's the only way to, y'know, fix you."_

 _Po raised an eyebrow. "What?"_

 _"You, well, I,_ we _couldn't handle getting rejected by Tigress. It's a lot more complicated than that, but I won't go into it." His reflection waved his hand as a means of saying, 'it's nothing for you to worry about' "I don't know how Tigress feels now, but you've got to learn to deal with her rejection."_

 _Po smirked. This was a joke, wasn't it? Who would believe this? "Or else what?" His tone was mocking, but he didn't like how a layer of it sounded so similar to his reflection's._

 _"Or else, you stay like this forever."_

 _Oh._

 _Po, much to his mirror-image's delight, was stricken silent._

 _So, he would stay the way he was. Forever. How bad could that be? He was a better warrior, he didn't trip, he could make it up stairs, and he was healthier. he just wasn't...that happy. But who need happiness? He didn't need it, obviously._

 _"You're mulling it over, aren't you?" His hallucination said smugly. The look in his eyes almost made him run forward to attack, but he would probably just reappear somewhere else. Couldn't he catch a break?_

 _Po finally nodded, but it was the faintest of nods. "A little."_

 _Reflection-Po clapped his hands together. "Alright, we're in business! Now, just stop caring about Tigress, and you'll be fine."_

 _"How exactly am I supposed to do that?"_

 _"I dunno."_

 _Po stared at his reflection, jaw gaping. What did he mean, 'I dunno'? He was supposed to know! Wasn't that why he was here? "What do you mean you don't know? You're the one who's telling me all this!"_

 _"Yeah," he replied, surging. "But I don't know how you'll change, I just know it's all you can do to get fixed. I mean, you got a better idea?"_

 _Po smirked. "There's a lot of that going around today."_

 _"Just admit you love her, stop caring about her, we can leave happy, and you'll be fixed."_

 _Po blinked, recalling a certain painful event a few days earlier. That was it! It was ok! "Wait!" He grinned smugly at his ghost, who watched in mild amusement like a disinterested parent watching someone else's child do a trick. "Tigress already loves me. Ha!" Ok, he had to stop doing that, he was starting to sound like his old self._

 _His reflection scoffed. "She loved me, not you."_

 _Oh._

 _Po, again, didn't have anything to retort that argument. Maybe his old personality wasn't that dumb after all…nevertheless, he was still annoying to boot and needed manners. "So, maybe I care about her…" his voice acted as its own entity, revealing what his head and heart didn't want anyone else, even himself, to know. "…but it's not like I really love her."_

 _"Oh yeah? We've gone from you thinking she's just a great warrior to you caring about her in five minutes. Can we speed it up?" His ghost yawned for good measure. "I don't have all day."_

 _"I'm not telling you anything."_

 _His alter-ego smirked. "She doesn't love you this way, she hates it. Sure, she started liking it. But when she needed a shoulder, what did you do?" The tone he used was unmistakable; he wanted an answer. "Come on," he prodded, his smirk growing into a glare too fast for Po's taste. "What did you do?"_

 _"She was overreacting," Po reasoned aloud. Yes, of course she was. He wasn't at fault, obviously._

 _"Don't give me that. What did you do when she was scared, running to you for comfort?" His ghost's personality was sharpening, glaring at him and starting to poke and needle him where he didn't want to be touched. "What did you do to her?"_

 _"I... I didn't do anything..."_

 _"Say it!"_

 _"No!"_

 _"You know what you did!"_

 _"I TURNED HER AWAY, ALRIGHT?!" Po exploded like dynamite, every ounce of his frustration from the days past and moments prior finally being released in one sentence._

 _His subconscious dream was silent. Eerily silent, so quiet he thought he might have been waking up._

 _His reflecting finally spoke. "Why did you do it?"_

 _"I..." He was about to protest, lie, ignore him, anything, but the look on his ghost's face told him it was a waste of time. "I didn't want her to think I was weak. If she cried on my shoulder I wouldn't be strong anymore."_

 _"And why would that be bad?"_

 _No. Don't go there. This was like talking to a nosy friend who meant well, but at the same time made you question your entire existence. "Because... I... I guess, I wanted her to like me. Respect me, you know?"_

 _The smile from moments before returned to his old personality's face. "Finally, we're getting somewhere."_

 _"I love her."_

 _"I know you do."_

 _Po looked up at his reflection. There it was. It was all out. He knew his problem. He knew his goal, his passion, his end. "What do I do know?"_

 _"That, you'll have to figure out for yourself." he reflection started to fade, the edges starting to blur like if someone slowly dripped water on a precious painting. "I can't help you anymore, it's up to you."_

 _Panic clutched Po's lungs and wouldn't let go, mocking and laughing at him. "Wait, what are you talking about? I can't just fix my personality, I need you! Therapy! A knock on the head, anything!"_

 _The blurred edges of his mirror-image were starting to spread, the face of his companion no longer legible. "I think you know what you have to do."_

 _"No, I really don't!"_

 _A laugh could be heard, but it was faint. "With any luck, we'll meet again. Maybe in the same place, together, huh?" He paused, his essence nearly completely wiped away. "Don't lose her. You're too smart for that."_

 _With that, his reflection vanished into blackness._

#

"Do you think he's ok?"

"Something like Deja-vu, huh, Viper?"

"Oh, be quiet. He should be awake by now. How long has it been?"

"About ten minutes."

"That's not good."

"I think he'll be ok."

"How would you know?"

"Everyone be quiet, I think he's waking up."

She was right, Po's consciousness was begrudgingly returning, like a child going back to school after winter-break. He left his eyes shut, letting his consciousness return slowly. He could hear the voices of his friends more clearly, but couldn't discern who was saying what. He just heard tones, indistinguishable from one another.

"He's waking up! Do you think he'll be ok?"

"I'm sure he will, he just needs to rest."

"I hope so, he's been out far too long."

"Quiet. Po? Wake up, I know you're awake, you're just milking it."

Po finally, finally forced his eyes to open a crack. "Aw...my head is killing me..." He was greeted by Monkey, Mantis, Crane and Viper's cheers from in front of him.

"Po!" Viper exclaimed, her smile blurred by his vision but wide as ever. "How do you feel?"

"Hey, big guy!" Mantis cheered. "Glad you're ok, you've been out for a bit, we were getting worried."

Monkey snickered. "Yeah, but you've had your own personal nurse the whole time."

"Huh?" The odd comment was enough incentive for Po to open his eyes a little wider, clearing the smear and sharpening his vision. He turned his head to the left, and what, or rather _who_ he saw opened up his eyes the rest of the way.

Tigress smiled softly, resting her paw on his and intertwining their fingers. While he couldn't tell if it was the light shining in his eyes from just waking up or being away from her, he knew she was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

She gave him a smirk that was oh-so 'her' in this situation. "Well, look who's finally awake."


	10. All It Takes

**A/N: Last chapter, minus an epilogue I have in the works. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, ESPECIALLY Dragon Chronicle, you really helped me out in my first baby steps in posting on this site. ENJOY!**

No. She wasn't there. It was absurd, it was illogical to think that she was there. Then again, she was _standing_ right in front of him, so he couldn't really argue the fact. "Ti-Tigress…" his tongue went on strike; his heart threw a rock-party in his throat…what was she doing here?

She smirked again, pushing him back to lie down on the mat, and he didn't dare fight her firm touch. "Lie down. Viper, can you take it from here?"

"Uh, sure. Where are you going?" Viper found it odd, even concerning, that Tigress was just _leaving_.

Ignoring Po's gaping jaw and star-shocked eyes of jade, she answered on her way to the door. "I have to train the students. Keep him lying down." With no word of parting, she swept out of the room.

Mantis hopped on Po's shoulder. "Dude, she was a lot nicer to you when you were unconscious. Maybe you should try that again."

Honestly, couldn't anyone other than her think of Po's health? "Po, how do you feel?" As hard and forcefully as she shoved her hopes to back where they came from, Viper couldn't stop the urge to believe Po was fixed. After all, he had passed out before he lost his personality, maybe passing out again fixed him?

Po shrugged. "No different, but my temples hurt like burning coals."

"Of _course._ "

"I guess getting hit again didn't fix you," Monkey mumbled. The air in the room dropped several degrees, like the room had heard about someone's death. In a way, it had. Was this the death of Po?

Viper shook her head and tried to rid herself of the melancholy, grim thoughts. If she could just be optimistic one more time, if she could just believe the best would take place this one last time, maybe her glum attitude would dissolve. "Well, you should stay resting. We can't stay for long, we're going to check out that place Monkey was talking about, then head back. Tigress will come back tomorrow as planned."

He nodded, his mind wandering to other places.

 _I'm...I'm not fixed._

"We'll see you in a bit." Crane waved, as did the other masters.

"Get some rest, Po," Viper ordered under such a low tone Po thought she was crying.

The group left, and he was once more alone with his thoughts.

Was this the end? His reflection, his mind, his conscious, his _whatever_ didn't know what he was talking about. How was he supposed to fix himself?

Groaning, he covered his face with his paws. He could face death on a daily basis and win, he could save all of China, he could get the most inward and reserved Kung Fu Master to open up, but he couldn't fix his own state of mind?

Tigress was more fun, essentially, than him.

Were the roles reversed now? Was he the hardcore, the quiet, the disciplined one who needed training in the art of letting go? Was she the fun one who needed to release childish, silly fantasies about love?

 _"She loves me, not you."_

Of course, of all the things that changed in him, his love for her remained. Why, of all things, did that burning sensation inside him have to stay?

It was part of him.

 _She_ was part of him.

He couldn't think about this forever. Brooding did nothing, it only served to give his self-pity strength and a longer life.

He admired the room around him. It was small, reminiscent of the Jade Palace, but more ornate, like for a king. Where the Jade Palace had trimmings of wood, the school had gold. Red paint was replaced by bold, earth-shattering, palpable blue, a somehow more mature feel.

"Po?"

His introspection was interrupted by Tigress' voice and her knock at the door. "Come in," he greeted, ignoring the stinging in his head as he sat up.

She entered, an air he didn't care for around her. Obviously, she still felt awkward around him. Of course, had he really expected that she would feel comfortable around him? Would she ever? Did they have to start all over, forming a new relationship from the beginning?

It sounded exhausting.

"Where is Viper?"

Her words, frozen and untouchable, unless one had a death wish, burned in his ears. He longed to see her smile. Perhaps her glowing, angelic disposition when he had first woken up was a figment of his imagination, what his lonely mind desperately craved in the moment.

"She left."

"Ah."

How was he supposed to get her to open up when he wasn't even open enough to know his own feelings? He could not expect her to do what he could not, nor could he cause her to.

"I'm going to go," she announced suddenly, sparking his eyes to open wide and his nerves to stand up straight in a military row. "Keep resting."

"Tigress?"

 _Oh no._

 _Please, don't talk to me._

 _Don't make me listen to you now._

"Yes?" Her tough exterior, hiding an unstable frame of mind, did not help his confidence.

"Uh, I was just...I was wondering..." Did he have a plan? Did he know what he was going to say? did he know what he _wanted_ to say?

Absolutely not.

She watched with careful, laser-focused eyes as he rambled blind, like a child running in a dreamscape. It was calming, in a sick way, to see him scrambling for words. It reminded her of his old self, when he would either stutter in front of her or speak like the most eloquent, trustworthy friend in the world.

"Po?" If she closed her eyes, much like Viper had noticed, she could imagine there wasn't anything wrong with him. "What is it?"

His eyes shot up. She thought he knew what he was talking about? He didn't even know what had he wanted to ask of her, much less how to say it.

The thought struck him like a boulder rolling down an eighty-five-degree slope.

No, he _certainly_ could not say _that_.

That was out of the question, he wasn't the one she loved anymore. It would be foolish to confess, again, today. It would be the dumbest move in the book, fools would advise against it.

 _Do it._

"Ti, I think, well, I mean, I don't know, but..." Here it was. Now or never, truly, never. His heart kicked and hollered in his throat, his stomach was knotting so bad he thought he would be sick. "...I think..."

 _Say it._

"...I love you."

Blurring, clouding, black splotches closed all around his vision, his head shedding pounds, not that he could tell where his head was relative to space.

His head hit the bottom of the mat, but complete unconsciousness hid from him.

His heart stopped for a moment, as if taking a breath, and he clutched his chest before it returned like a bullet.

"Ti?" he eyed her through hazy vision. "Isn't this the part where you rush to my side, all concerned and worried about me?"

Her jaw let go further, throwing off the balance of her rigid form.

"Uh, you ok?" His vision slowly gave him a break, but his head refused to budge with its pain. "You look like I just tried the noodle-boiling-water plan again. Can you move a little? You're freaking me out here and why am I talking so much?"

"Po..." she found the strength, the willpower to force words out of her mouth again. "...how do you feel?"

 _Different._

He felt different, but the same.

Like returning to a home one had sold and left years ago, or rummaging through a closet of childhood necessities after years of more mature hobbies. Something new and something old were one.

"I..." His words were air. "...am I fixed?"

Her smile was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. She was happy, she had a girlish quality around her, like a small, giddy side of her was making itself know. "Are you?" There was a sarcastic but sweet edge to her voice, one only she could master.

He was lighter. Happier. It was like a gun that had been held to his head for weeks was taken away. "Ti, I'm fixed!"

Again, dangerously ignoring the sharp shot of pain in his head, he shot up from the mat, rushed to her side and grabbed her in a hug. She stiffened at first, but inwardly rolling her eyes, she returned to hug gently.

 _He's back._

Viper rushed in next, the only obstacle her own stupidly optimistic heart. "What is it?" She crashed through the door, with Mantis, Monkey, and Crane barreling in after her.

Po pulled back, a grin none of them had seen in weeks back on his face. "I'm cured!"

Viper started crying.

The next five minutes were spent with hugs, mainly from Viper's end, and quizzing Po on various 'fun' activities and trivia while Tigress rolled her eyes.

"How did it happen?" Viper asked, her elated energy still rushing forward like a wave. "What fixed you?"

Po and Tigress refused to glance at each other. "Well, it's a funny story..." Po laughed, shrugging a bit. He still had no answer, the joy of becoming himself again had blotted out his other life crisis.

Viper shook her head. No _way_ was he getting out of telling her. "Oh, no way. Come on, I have to know how this happened."

Tigress, who knew what _actually_ brought him back, had been using the past sixty seconds to formulate an artful lie. "There wasn't really much to it. Po was very out of it, as you saw after waking up, and his personality returned slowly."

Her ability to lie so well was of some concern to Po, but that was an issue for another day.

Matching said ability, Viper's belief in Tigress' story was little to none. "Uh-huh." She eyed the pair suspiciously, and with every reason to do so. "Ok, well, I'm glad." She decided that the truth could come out in its own time, no matter who she heard it from.

"Wait, so getting hit on the head really _did_ fix him?" Monkey asked, elation crossing his face. "I was right!"

Tigress smirked. "You could say that."

Now, while it is unknown what caused Viper's realization, she certainly acted on it. "Uh, guys?" She looked to her 'boys', a sense of urgency and mild panic gracing her that they did not recognize. "Let's go, we have things to do. Po, glad you're back, uh, bye."

"What do we have to do?" Crane asked, innocently enough.

Viper bit back a groan, but let through a glare. "I'll tell you later, come on." Grabbing Mantis' leg and Monkey's ear, she dragged them out of the room. Crane was wise enough to follow suit, without any physical persuasion.

Tigress made a mental note to have a talk with Viper about when is and isn't a good time to leave two people alone together.

"Well, I'm going to go as well," Tigress interpreted the silence, never being one to let awkward situations brew for very long. "Goodbye." Carefully, very carefully, she avoided the subject of his confession.

"Wait, Ti." He took a few steps forward, and she winced. Already she was feeling the drawbacks of having his old personality back; he was just as stubborn as her, if not more, and would not let anything go, no matter how awkward.

"Yes?" She turned to face him, but her attention and gaze were directly to his side.

"Uh, well, I kind of said something earlier, I don't know if you heard it or not, but it may or may not have had to do with the fact of concerning how I feel regarding you and my relationship with you." The entire sentence was said in one short, hasty breath, it had to, for his nerve and confidence were fading fast.

For all she knew, she was dealing with two very different people, two personalities, one how had loved her and she had hurt, and one who also loved her, but she had not hurt nearly as badly. How could she know that the old one still loved her? She wasn't ready to risk finding out. "Po, I can't talk about this."

 _Oh, no way is she getting out of this._

Reaching forward and breaking all known laws of dealing with Tigress, he grabbed her paw and stopped her from taking another step. "Tigress, you can't just leave me, not again. I deserve an answer, whatever it may be."

For a fleeting moment, she thought he had lost himself again, until catching a glimpse of the sweet smile he wore. He was back, but could she trust him? He had slipped from her grasp so many times for so many reasons, and there were too many ways she could lose him again.

What was she to gain if she accepted his love?

Him.

That, for whatever mad reason, was enough for her today.

"You know what? I think I may just love you after all."

She thought he would faint right then and there, again.

"Wait, really?" After a moment of silence and recollection, he was able to speak. "This is real, you actually..." he waited for her to fill in the impossible.

She smiled. "Yes."

Here was no room for words as he swept her into a kiss.


	11. Epilogue: Here We Are Again

**A/N: Well, this is the end! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed, again, especially Dragon Chronicle. This is just a short little epilogue, hope you like it! Dee out!**

* * *

"Hey, Ti!" Po greeted, walking up to his girlfriend with something close to energetic joy, but not quite. There was something...more.

Her golden eyes looked him over, like she could find the answer written on him somewhere. "What are you doing?" It was a simple question, but she knew he understood the implications involved.

He shrugged, the final nail telling her something was not right. The smile on his face, playful and teasing, put her on high alert. "Nothing. Can't I just be happy to see you?"

The smirk on her face was answer enough. "That's normal, I don't know what this is." She kicked the poor dummy in front of her one last time, then, with a nod, allowed him to lead her outside. "I told you I hate surprises." It was a statement, if there was a pet peeve of hers, he knew about it.

Shrugging once more, Po linked his arm through hers. "You gotta learn to love the unexpected, Ti."

Ah, she should have expected that. Groaning, she gave him a hard glare that she had used too many times for it to still be effective. "I think today may finally be the day I kill you."

Again, the threat was merely a tease. "Hey, if you didn't kill me when I jumped at you at three in the morning on Halloween, why would you do it now?"

A smile broke out on her face, the type she only had when she was with him. "I may just be waiting for the right time."

They were silent, for a moment, as he subtly (for once in his life) guided her through the palace grounds and down the steps. "Where are we going?" Tigress voiced her question as if he had placed a blindfold over her eyes.

He shrugged, an action she was quickly tiring of. "I dunno."

"Po."

"What?"

She wasn't a fan of surprises, as he knew. She liked to know what was going to happen, when it would happen, how, why, all the details. She got enough surprises in battles, must her personal life shock her too? "Po," she started, trying to keep the beginnings of her anger down deep. "Whatever this is, I'm sure it's very sweet, but don't do it."

He started to laugh, and, for the first time that warm evening, she detected a hint of anxiety. "Uh, too late."

She didn't respond as they continued through the dusk air. Whatever he had planned must have been of considerable importance, he was rarely nervous around her, much less uneasy and silent.

Analyzing her surroundings, she tried to decipher what he could have planned. Everyone now and then a villager looked at her, maybe pointed, and muttered in hushed whispers to their friend. That was normal, but this time there was something...giddy?

Tigress also had to consider the time of day. On any other day, Po would take an evening like this for them to just relax together, not spring a trap.

Mr. Ping's restaurant was an obvious culprit for the location of the 'surprise', but they passed that by with no acceleration in pace. She took a glance at him. He looked calm, but she had no idea what was under the surface.

Po...was nervous. And that's putting it as mildly as a person can. His stomach was in knots so terrible and gut-wrenching he thought he was sick, and his vision was skewed and blurred.

This would either make or break his relationship with Tigress for the rest of his life.

He silently guided her behind a building, around a fenced in area and to a small, cozy nectar of forestry she didn't even know existed. It looked as though it had stepped right out of a fairy-tale.

The grass was greener, the trees were taller, and the flowers were such a vibrant shade Tigress nearly suspected they were fake. "Why are we here?" Her tone was softer, dulled by the magnitude of the cove he had led her into.

He shrugged, but she could see how the action drained him. "Po?"

The mood shifted from teasing and questioning to questioning and tense as he groaned, burying his face in his paws. "Ugh, ok, TI, I'm terrified right now, so just bear with me and don't laugh."

He removed his paws, and she was far from laughing and the expression on his face. What was he doing? Not a break-up, he wouldn't do that to her, especially not in this way.

She sat down, her legs crossed as if she was about to meditate, but he did not join her. "Po? What is it?"

He had to do it. All the mental preparation was leading up to this point, and it was time. Eventually, she would figure it out on her own, and if there was any chance of doing this with some element of surprise, he had to do it now.

Now.

Like, yesterday-now.

"Tigress, I love you." Ok, a decent start.

She nodded in agreement. "I know."

Really, sometimes he wished his girlfriend was a bit more...outward.

"Ok, well, I mean...I love you a lot. I've loved you a lot longer than I've known you, y'know. And every day is a dream for me, so, even though I already know the answer..."

In one quick, shaky motion, he pulled a ring box out of his pocket and showed her the inside; a sparkling, Jade diamond atop a rose gold band. "Tigress, will...will you marry me?"

He shut his eyes down. "And, please, this time, let me down easy, alright? I don't wanna lose my personality again."

She stared at him, then the ring. Him, the ring. Him, the ring. She loved him. She loved him more than she loved anyone, more than most believed she should. Could she love the ring? Could she promise to love him forever, no matter the events of the future?

He stayed, on one knee, in front of her. Even with his eyes shut, she knew how much anguish lay behind them. For goodness sakes, he got nervous asking her if she still loved him.

"Po?"

"...Yeah?"

"Yes."

THE END


End file.
